The storage of bicycles presents peculiar problems and opportunities because a bicycle is relatively long, narrow and of varying weights. Bicycles typically are stored by placing them on a wall mount. The mount often is as simple as two spaced hooks extending from a wall and the hooks may be specially adapted to receive the horizontal tube of the bicycle frame or the bicycle wheels. Various refinements of bicycle wall mounts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 602,415, 3,883,002 to Moore, U.S. Pat. No. 3,976,200 to Munns, U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,782 to Hugel, U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,845 to Fretter and U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,089 to Stewart.
A bicycle wall mount has limited utility however. A wall mount primarily prevents the bicycle from falling over or being tipped over. It does not particularly protect the bicycle from being damaged by other objects; neither does it remove the bicycle from traffic areas. In addition, the wall mount itself may be an obstacle when it is not storing a bicycle.
One early system for providing a bicycle rack that could be elevated is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 602,415 to Moore in which a cylindrical wall mount has a pulley at the top thereof with a weight attached to a cord or chain which is directed over a pulley at the top of the vertical support member. The cord extends downwardly on the outside of the vertical support member and is attached to a bicycle rack. The size of the weight is adjusted such that the rack and the bicycle carried thereby may be easily raised or lowered.
One difficulty with this type of mounting is that weight is inside the vertical support and thus is not easily accessible. Further, it may become necessary to change the size of the weight depending upon the size or weight of the bicycle being placed on the rack. Thus, if a heavier bicycle is used, the existing weight may not be sufficient to easily enable the bicycle to be raised.
Another attempt to improve the utility of the bicycle wall mount is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,907,133 to Kropelnitski. The Kropelnitski patent discloses a bicycle mount contained on a vertical rail attached to a wall. The mount may be elevated manually by the use of a cable and pulley scheme. The elevated mount is secured by a pin inserted through the mount and rail. The Kropelnitski apparatus elevates the mounted bicycle but is cumbersome to use.
It is desired, then, to have a bicycle mount that secures a bicycle from harm, positions the bicycle away from the trafficked areas, is not an obstacle in itself when not storing a bicycle and is easy to use. Such a device is disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,162 issued Feb. 2, 1993 and entitled "Mobile Mount System". This system functions well and requires a motor or other power source to drive an endless band moving within an elongated enclosed track to which is attached a bicycle rack. Thus, the bicycle may be raised or lowered along with the bicycle rack by energizing a motor.
The present invention provides a simplified device for raising and lowering bicycles that utilizes constant force springs that well known in the aft. The springs come with different forces such as, for example only, twenty-five pounds, thirty-three pounds, five pounds and the like. With the use of these constant force springs attached to a bike rack, any bike can be raised up or down with about three to five pounds force. In the preferred embodiment, the bike rack is mounted on a fiberglass tube vertical support member. The constant force spring or springs are mounted on the upper end of the fiberglass tube with the outer end of the spring or springs attached to the bike rack. The bike rack has two guide members attached to it about seven inches apart. The first guide member is directly attached to the back of the rack and the second guide member is attached by vertical support rods to the back of the rack. In the preferred embodiment, the two guide members are in the form of rings that are about seven inches apart. The upper ring is directly attached to the back of the bike rack and the lower ring is attached to the back of the bike rack with first and second rods connected to the sides thereof and extending upwardly to the rack. Each of the first and second rods is attached to the ring at a point on each side of the ring substantially in alignment with the center of the fiberglass vertical support tube. This causes the lifting forces on the top ring to be changed from a twisting force to a straight vertical force on the bottom ring. The bike rack thus moves very easily up and down the fiberglass tube. Further, the attachment point on the rack to which the end of the constant force spring is attached is mounted at a distance from the vertical support so as to cause a clockwise rotational force on said rack as viewed from the side. When an object such as a bicycle is placed on the rack, it creates a counterclockwise rotational force that opposes and tends to cancel the rotational force caused by the constant force spring thus allowing the rack to move easily along the vertical support member because of reduced frictional forces.
The unit may come with a twenty-five or thirty-three pound constant force spring, for example. However, at least four other springs of five pounds each can be added separately and individually as needed at the top of the fiberglass tube to accommodate all bike weights.
As is well known with constant force springs, the springs are on a spool that applies a constant force to the spring. The spring is in the form of a flat elongated thin metallic piece resembling a retractible, extendible tape measure.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved mobile mount system that utilizes constant force springs to enable the mount to be raised or lowered with an object thereon upon the application of an additional force substantially in the range of one to five pounds.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an improved mobile mount system that has additional smaller constant force springs that can be quickly coupled to the bicycle rack to provide additional force for heavier objects.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an improved mobile mount system that has reduced frictional forces during movement along a vertical support, thus allowing easier movement of the mount system.